Hobro Church

Facts

Pinnacles and polychrome

By Morten Pedersen, Cand.mag., phd. Museumsinspektør på Nordjyllands Historiske Museum (16 stories)

Hobro had a medieval church until 1848 when the building was so ramshackle that it had to be removed. Architect Michael Gottlieb Bindesbøll (1800-1856) was given the task of designing a new church on the site of the old church in 1850-52. The architecture was a combination of historical styles with features that were especially late Gothic and Byzantine. The gables' pointed columns, called pinnacles", were inspired by an extension at Roskilde Cathedral, for example. Architectural historians see the yellow and red bands of brickwork as a polychrome effect that reflects the Byzantine architecture of Greece. The tower was positioned to the east making it an impressive feature of Hobro's main street. "

Public place

Selected entry

M.G. Bindesbøll

Story written by Morten Pedersen

Time / Periode 1850 1852

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M.G. Bindesbøll's inspiration from historical styles is evident in Hobro Church and many of the architect's other works that are highlights of Danish architecture. In his youth, Bindesbøll saw neoGothic masterpieces in Germany and learned about the architecture of Egypt and Pompeii in France. In 1833, he was awarded the Royal Academy of Fine Art's gold medal for designing a Gothic-style church. This medal caused heated debate because many people saw the award as a break with the prevailing classicism. But Bindesbøll gathered inspiration for what is probably his best-known building while travelling in 1834-38. His trip took him to see the great architecture of ancient Greece and Rome in Italy, Greece and Turkey, and in Rome he met sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. Together, they discussed plans for a museum to house the great artist's works that was built in Copenhagen in 1839-48.